Los Angeles CA (SPX) Sep 19, 2017
One of Chinese startups appears to be following in the footsteps of SpaceX as it has lately laid out its own project of reusable space launch system. Link Space, the country's first private rocket company, has recently presented the design of its New Line 1 (also known as Xin Gan Xian 1) launch vehicle, which could compete with SpaceX's Falcon 9 in the future.
Link Space uncovered the design and some basic technical parameters at a recent presentation. The images revealed to the public show that t ... read more

Splashdown! Crashing into Martian mudParis (ESA) Sep 19, 2017
An impactor smashing into an ice-rich surface gave rise to the complex flow features around this ancient crater on Mars. Impacts of comets and asteroids have shaped the surfaces of rocky planets and ... more

The return of the comet-like exoplanetGeneva, Switzerland (SPX) Sep 15, 2017
Astronomers from the University of Geneva (UNIGE), Switzerland, also members of the PlanetS National Centre of Competence in Research, have been working on a joint project with the universities of B ... more

Artificial 'skin' gives robotic hand a sense of touchHouston TX (SPX) Sep 15, 2017
A team of researchers from the University of Houston has reported a breakthrough in stretchable electronics that can serve as an artificial skin, allowing a robotic hand to sense the difference betw ... more

Ice mined on Mars could provide water for humans exploring spaceSydney, Australia (The Conversation) Sep 19, 2017
As humans spread out across the Earth, the locations of new colonies were driven by the accessibility of resources: not only food and water, but also arable land, forests and minerals.
Access to such resources remains important as the economy moves into space. Here, water has emerged as the pre-eminent resource to exploit first. The question then becomes, from where will we extract the wat ... more

Researchers create first global map of water in moon's soilProvidence RI (SPX) Sep 14, 2017
In research that may prove useful to future lunar explorers, scientists from Brown University have created the first quantitative map of water and its chemical building blocks trapped in the uppermost portion of the Moon's soil.
The study, published in Science Advances, builds on the initial discovery in 2009 of water and a related molecule - hydroxyl, which consists of one atom each of hy ... more

Hubble observes pitch black planetMunich, Germany (SPX) Sep 15, 2017
Astronomers have discovered that the well-studied exoplanet WASP-12b reflects almost no light, making it appear essentially pitch black. This discovery sheds new light on the atmospheric composition of the planet and also refutes previous hypotheses about WASP-12b's atmosphere. The results are also in stark contrast to observations of another similarly sized exoplanet.
Using the Space Tele ... more

Mechanisms are Critical to Space Vehicle Flight SuccessBethesda MD (SPX) Sep 19, 2017
About two years ago the National Transportation Safety Board announced its finding regarding the Virgin Galactic crash that occurred on October 31, 2014. The simple explanation was that the co-pilot unlocked a critical vehicle mechanism too early. After a nine-month investigation the NTSB further concluded that human error and inadequate safety procedures caused the violent crash.
The vehi ... more

Chinese company eyes development of reusable launch vehicleLos Angeles CA (SPX) Sep 19, 2017
One of Chinese startups appears to be following in the footsteps of SpaceX as it has lately laid out its own project of reusable space launch system. Link Space, the country's first private rocket company, has recently presented the design of its New Line 1 (also known as Xin Gan Xian 1) launch vehicle, which could compete with SpaceX's Falcon 9 in the future.
Link Space uncovered the desi ... more

NASA-funded research at USC provides evidence of ground-ice on asteroidsLos Angeles CA (SPX) Sep 14, 2017
Research at the USC Viterbi School of Engineering has revealed new evidence for the occurrence of ground ice on the protoplanet Vesta. The work, under the sponsorship of NASA's Planetary Geology and Geophysics program, is part of ongoing efforts at USC Viterbi to improve water detectability techniques in terrestrial and planetary subsurfaces using radar and microwave imaging techniques.
Th ... more

DOD to invest $17M on laser weapons research in New MexicoWashington (UPI) Aug 24, 2017
The Department of Defense is investing $17 million in directed energy laser weapons, Sen. Martin Heinrich, D-N.M., announced at the Boeing facility in Albuquerque, N.M., on Wednesday.
"With our state's unique expertise in directed energy work, this funding will jump start the deployment of this critical technology and bring more high-paying jobs to the state," said Heinrich, a member of ... more

To shoot down or not? NKorea launch highlights intercept issuesWashington (AFP) Sept 17, 2017
North Korea's latest missile launch over Japan set sirens blaring and triggered alerts telling people to seek shelter - yet neither Tokyo nor Washington tried to shoot the rocket down.
The test follows one in August that saw another rocket soar over Hokkaido. In that case too, much-vaunted Japanese and US missile-intercept capabilities were not used.
Now some in the United States are wo ... more

Cassini Makes its 'Goodbye Kiss' Flyby of TitanPasadena CA (JPL) Sep 12, 2017
NASA's Cassini spacecraft is headed toward its Sept. 15 plunge into Saturn, following a final, distant flyby of the planet's giant moon Titan.
The spacecraft made its closest approach to Titan Sep 10 at 12:04 p.m. PDT (3:04 p.m. EDT), at an altitude of 73,974 miles (119,049 kilometers) above the moon's surface. The spacecraft is scheduled to make contact with Earth on Sept. 12 at about 6:1 ... more

New insights into nanocrystal growth in liquidRichland WA (SPX) Sep 19, 2017
Many seashells, minerals, and semiconductor nanomaterials are made up of smaller crystals, which are assembled together like the pieces of a puzzle. Now, researchers have measured the forces that cause the crystals to assemble, revealing an orchestra of competing factors that researchers might be able to control.
The work has a variety of implications in both discovery and applied science. ... more

GRACE Mission Making Plans for Final Science Data CollectionWashington DC (SPX) Sep 19, 2017
With one of its twin satellites almost out of fuel after more than 15 years of chasing each other around our planet to measure Earth's ever-changing gravity field, the operations team for the U.S./German Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) mission is making plans for an anticipated final science collection.
On Sept. 3, one of 20 battery cells aboard the GRACE-2 satellite stoppe ... more

The beam of invisibilityVienna, Austria (SPX) Sep 15, 2017
Researchers from Vienna University, together with colleagues from Greece and the USA, have now developed a new idea for a cloaking technology. A completely opaque material is irradiated from above with a specific wave pattern - with the effect that light waves from the left can now pass through the material without any obstruction.
This surprising result opens up completely new possibiliti ... more

Artificial 'skin' gives robotic hand a sense of touchHouston TX (SPX) Sep 15, 2017
A team of researchers from the University of Houston has reported a breakthrough in stretchable electronics that can serve as an artificial skin, allowing a robotic hand to sense the difference between hot and cold, while also offering advantages for a wide range of biomedical devices.
The work, reported in the journal Science Advances, describes a new mechanism for producing stretchable e ... more

China touts military drone helicopter at exhibitionWashington (UPI) Sep 15, 2017
China is displaying its unmanned reconnaissance and attack helicopter drone to possible foreign military buyers at an exhibition in Tianjin.
The aircraft is the AV500W, a 24.6-feet long autonomous aircraft developed and produced at the AVIC Helicopter Research and Development Institute.
The drone has a flight ceiling of about 13,000 feet, a maximum speed of about 105 miles per ho ... more

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